Cleveland Athletic Club building could be in line for hotel makeover

Plans to rejuvenate the shuttered Cleveland Athletic Club building, this time as a Crowne Plaza Hotel, surfaced today, Feb. 4, as hotel management and development concern Dellisart LLC of Roswell, Ga., announced it has been awarded a contract to operate a 194-room Crowne Plaza there.
Dellisart, which describes itself as a hotel developer as well as a third-party hotel manager, said in a news release that the renovation will include a restaurant, health club, and upscale condominiums. Dellisart said the renovation plans are going through design work and are slated to “commence shortly.”
However, Dellisart did not specify the identity of the firm redeveloping the hotel. Principals of hotel management concerns sometimes take ownership and development roles through separate sister companies. Other firms like managing hotels because it avoids the substantial capital investments of real estate ownership.
Douglas Artusio, Dellisart CEO, could not be reached this morning. He and another executive each did not return a phone message from Crain’s Cleveland Business or respond to an email sent to an address on its news release.
A call to Eli Mann, owner of the CAC building at 1118 Euclid Ave., also was not returned by 12:25 p.m. today.
The landmark club closed in 2007, and the building has been dark since. While Mr. Mann has not proceeded with redeveloping the structure, neither have others. The property has a state OK for a state historic preservation tax credit, which would be vital to financing any renovation of the structure in what’s called downtown Cleveland’s “dead zone.”
The Crowne Plaza name would be strategic for a new hotel downtown. Downtown lost the Crowne Plaza flag when the Crowne Plaza hotel at 771 E. St. Clair Ave. closed in 2011; it is being refurbished as a Westin. Crowne Plaza is an Intercontinental Hotel Group franchise and part of a major hotel reservation system.